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Holistic Governance for Sustainable Public Services: Reshaping Government–Enterprise Relationships in China’s Digital Government Context

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  • Xuesong Li

    (School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China)

  • Yunlong Ding

    (School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China)

Abstract

The notion of holistic governance was originally proposed to make up for the fragmentation of public service provision. However, such a notion also has a great potential to be transferred and understood in the digital government context in China, where there is an increasing need to reshape the landscape of government–enterprise relationships that can enable enterprises to involvement effectively in holistic governance, or the planning and design of public services. However, previous empirical studies on holistic governance have neglected the question of how to make this happen. The aim of this article is to fill these gaps, building on holistic governance theory, this article offers a theoretical framework for government–enterprise relationships under the holistic governance paradigm. The framework identifies a comprehensive set of relationships that explain how these relationships affect enterprises’ participation in public service provision. The empirical analysis is based on case studies of four e-services cooperation programs in China. We report three main findings. First, economic incentive should be developed in combination with a holistic governance strategy in order to encourage policymakers to reshape government–enterprise relationships. Second, it seems that the implementation of holistic governance is more effective when complemented with a managerial strategy in relation to organizational transformation. Finally, trust-building between governments and enterprises plays a pivotal role in nurturing the holistic governance paradigm. These findings have important policy implications for efforts to promote enterprise participation and cross-sector solutions to fragmented public service provision.

Suggested Citation

  • Xuesong Li & Yunlong Ding, 2020. "Holistic Governance for Sustainable Public Services: Reshaping Government–Enterprise Relationships in China’s Digital Government Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:5:p:1778-:d:330419
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    1. Luyao Zhang & Alfredo Jimenez & Xavier Ordeñana & Seongjin Choi, 2023. "Corporate Decision on Digital Transformation: The Impact of Non-Market Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Yewande Adetoro Adewunmi & Uchendu Eugene Chigbu & Uaurika Kahireke & Prisca Simbanegavi & Sam Mwando & Amin Ally Issa & Samuel Hayford, 2023. "A Multi-Faceted Approach to Improving Public Services in Low-Income Housing in Windhoek, Namibia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Xiuli Yang & Xin Miao & Jinli Wu & Ziwei Duan & Rui Yang & Yanhong Tang, 2020. "Towards Holistic Governance of China’s E-Waste Recycling: Evolution of Networked Policies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-21, October.

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